The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means | 
 enlarge | Author: George Soros
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 1504
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 1586486837
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.0973
EAN: 9781586486839
ASIN: 1586486837
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
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Product Description
In the midst of the most serious financial upheaval since the Great Depression, legendary financier George Soros explores the origins of the crisis and its implications for the future. Soros, whose breadth of experience in financial markets is unrivaled, places the current crisis in the context of decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity. “This is the worst financial crisis since the 1930s,” writes Soros in characterizing the scale of financial distress spreading across Wall Street and other financial centers around the world. In a concise essay that combines practical insight with philosophical depth, Soros makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the great credit crisis and its implications for our nation and the world.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
 Mr. Soros tries prove something - what? January 2, 2009
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
OK, let me state first - who is Mr. Soros and who's me - to make a critics there. But.
I was hesitating to write this, but I truly want, that if you are reading this review, you are making the decision, whether to get the book on your shelf or no.
1. I had read a lot of books, will read more, but such an EGO driven book is a one I face first time. Mr. Soros is trying to prove something to someone. Me, my, I, me, my father, I, me, us........... It's like a da ja vu, once you are at the end of book.
2. Mr. Soros is very good at telling us WHAT HAPPENED, and WHY it happened, saying that subprime crisis will lead to trouble (of course saying - but I knew it, but I knew it..lalala... all are dumb, all are stupid only me knew it).
3. All the time Mr. Soros is trying to prove, that he is not ONLY a SUCCESSFUL SPECULATOR (if you my reader stil are in doubt who is a winner, I will call all chapter as "SUCCESSFUL SPECULATOR"), byt he also a Philosopher, and as any extrapolated to cosmos ego driven maniac he is placing his name near a all antique Greek philosophers and more contemporary ones. In that way Mr. Soros is devoting a whole chapter to his cloudy Theory of Reflexivity, which says a lot words, a lot of everything, but it can e said in 2 words - you can not predict future events based on past because the knowledge of people are not absolute, and they behave as social creatures.
4. Well, yeah, great. So, what we do? If you say, that we scroll the economy factbooks and recycle them at nearest garbage bin what next?
5. Next is at the end of book. Mr. Soros is proudly announcing that he is going short US bonds (now biggest rally in history), and long on China stocks (hardest hit of equity markets last year).
6. Oh, you still think Mr. Soros write book not for his ego, but you my friend?
How about this - I am citing - "I will not write anything about Russian market because I do not want invest here"
 Reality December 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After reading George Soros' book, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets, I can imagine him tracking us down, asking, "Can you hear me now?" Much of this new book revisits and explains again his earlier work, The Alchemy of Finance, and his theory of reflexivity. Under his theory, there is constant interaction between the objective dimension of cognitive analysis, and the subjective component of trying to beat other investors by taking particular actions. In both books he makes the case for imperfect markets, arguing against the prevailing theory of market equilibrium. Soros suggests that we would be well served if we worked toward a better understanding of the human condition. We are sorely mistaken if we think financial markets can be captured and understood solely by mathematics. He notes that the recent cycles of bubbles and bust prove his theory. The 162 pages of this book are well worth reading, and it's always interesting to listen to what a billionaire has to say.
Rating: Three-star (Recommended)
 The ramblings of an old man who was once relevent December 6, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book's point could have been made in one paragraph on a BLOG. The rest of the book is a waste of cellulose fibers. Soros is a brilliant investor who has an interesting theory that markets do not tend to equilibrium but are significantly effected by human emotion. Thus there is a bubble effect. There ya go - save your money for the book. The rest is just ramblings. If he were to do any real analysis it would have been worth the time to read.
It would be interesting to bring Milton Friedman back from the dead and have him and Soros on a 4 hour TV special to argue their points. Soros is clearly in conflict with Friedman and clearly in conflict with Bush administration shock politics (Naomi Klein) and clearly in keeping with the Obama socialist movement. Soros idea is a 'cheerleader in the bleechers' for the current wave of change in the US.
 Let Soros's words speak for themselves... December 5, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I believe this quote from Ch. 8 expresses what Soros really thinks, as opposed to the many subtle to blatant distortions of some of the reviewers:
"Clearly an unleashed and unhinged financial industry is wreaking havoc with the economy. It needs to be reined in. Credit creation is by its nature a reflexive process. It needs to be regulated to prevent excess. We must remember, however, that regulators are not only human but also bureaucratic. Going overboard with regulations could severely impede economic activity...Credit availability not only fosters productivity but also flexibility and innovation. Credit creation should not be put in a straight jacket. The world is full of uncertainty, and markets can adjust to changing conditions much better than bureaucrats. At the same time, we must recognize that markets do not just passively adjust to changing circumstances but also actively contribute to shaping the course of events. They may create instabilities and uncertainties that make their flexibility so valuable. Markets should be given the greatest possible scope compatible with maintaining economic stability."
Too much philosophy December 2, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The first half of the book talks about philosophy. He could have just put in one chapter and the reader would have got the point. The second half of the books talks about the financial market. An average read.
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